Online Games Are Becoming the Norm
The number of games online is growing rapidly, and the complexity and sophistication of these games grows broader every year. There are games for all moods, every direction one might search. In fact, marketing experts speak about turning the entire internet into a game. It's called "gamification." An activity might earn users points toward some goal, and users (players) compete with everyone else doing the same type of thing.
Life is a game and the internet is just a reflection of that reality.
Of course, we're not at the point of the complete gamification of the entire Internet, but there are certainly many places where the marketing people are having their way. It points to one deep truth about how we live our lives. It says that we love games, love to compete, and love the thrills that go into it. Like stories, games seem to be hardwired into our very being.
The search for games online will inevitably lead to the online casino, because those are games of a certain type. The games in the online casino have their own character and their own attraction. At the deepest core, that attraction is for risk and the chance of real wins/losses.
Casino games are about playing for real money. It is about having skin in the game. It's about feeling the risk as well as the exuberance of winning and even the pain of losing. If we never feel the sting of the loss, after all, we will not get so much joy from the win either.
Games of Pure Luck vs. Games of Luck and Skill
The online casino can be divided into two broad categories. There are games that are based on absolute luck, where the player has no influence on the outcome of the game. And some games add some elements of skill into the games so that there is some consequence for decisions.
Some gamblers consider the luck factor as absolutely essential to the experience. When a game is pure luck, there is no reason to ever lose hope with the next game. There is no challenge that needs practice to overcome, and there is no reason to worry about a winning streak stopping or a losing streak starting. Good examples of luck games are slots or roulette. The best you can do is bet wisely. Beyond that, the results of the games are out of our control.
Other casino fans prefer games that have some element of skill, such as poker or Blackjack. It takes some measure of skill to decide if it's wise to hit on 15 or 16 in blackjack. The only real guide for those types of decisions is the gut, the intuition, the inner voice, however people want to interpret it. Experience helps cultivate that voice. The more outcomes of a certain type you have seen, the better an inner sense you have for how likely different outcomes are to actually happen.
Of course, even the games with some skill require tremendous luck. Whether it's wise to take the card or not is as important a question as how lucky you are with the card you get. It is impossible to win on skill alone. You still need luck to send you the cards you need.
The Gamification of the Online Casino
Even though the casino offers opportunities to play a very particular kind of game, the casino itself is a form of gamification. It offers players bonus points for playing certain games, with a chance to win something of real value with enough accrued points.
Gaining loyalty points is a long term game that's worth playing. Attaining the vaunted VIP status at most casino sites presents opportunities for deals other players don't get. It also means cash back as a prize for loyalty to the casino. The casino always looks after its biggest hitters, and VIP are the heavy hitters of the online casino.
The games in the casino, however, are the real reason to visit, and there are more and more of them being created all the time.